Middle Age and Old Age

West Indians are brought up to respect their elders. Older adults are considered to be wise and are well respected in their communities both in the Caribbean and in West Indian immigrant neighborhoods in the United States. While unmarried middle-aged women who have not given birth to children are often stigmatized as spinsters, older persons of both genders are generally respected even if they do not have children. Older adults who have children expect their children to support them in their old age. The social status gained by older adults is evidenced in the West Indian practice of referring to elderly adults as "Grandmother" or "Grandfather" and middle-aged adults as "Auntie" or "Uncle." This is the custom even in cases in which the person being addressed is not one's biological relative. One gender-based difference in how older adult roles are socially constructed is seen in how grandmothers more than grandfathers are often expected to assist in the rearing of grandchildren.

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